Legislature Maintains Commitment to Key Provisions

(State Capitol, Phoenix) Gov. Janet Napolitano gets a second chance to keep her word and redeem her actions with respect to the budget agreement with legislative leaders from the end of last session. The Arizona Legislature passed four bills Wednesday, January 11, 2006 that positively impact education and the state's finances and revive four provisions Napolitano excised from the budget last year. Napolitano broke an agreement with legislative leaders that sealed the 2005-06 budget and vetoed the four provisions. Last spring, the Legislature fought for both accountability and fiscal prudence in the current year's budget. However, despite her agreement to sign them, Napolitano nixed several of those measures with her vetoes. They include: expanding school choice by creating a new scholarship tax credit for corporations to donate money to allow the children of lower and middle income families to attend private schools; placing excess revenues in the depleted rainy day fund; and ending the state general fund's contributions to the Arizona Cardinals new stadium. Specifically with respect to the scholarship tax credit, the Governor has repeatedly sited the difference between a five-year review and a five-year sunset for the provision as her reason for the veto. In the interests of getting this important policy in place for Arizona, we have passed this measure with the sunset the Governor said she needed. "The Legislature is giving our governor another chance to make good on our deal from last year. These bills help disadvantaged children and ensure the state has a cushion in the event of an unanticipated economic downturn. I hope she signs them," House Speaker Jim Weiers said. Senate President Ken Bennett said, "We expected these measures to be signed last year, but the bottom line at this juncture is that they become effective now for the citizens of Arizona. Efforts have been made to address the concerns articulated by the Governor. I'm hopeful that this will allow us to get these matters finally settled."